Monday, July 28, 2008

Yesterday, I had some projects to tie up, miles to run, laundry to fold, and a kid with a double ear infection.

I forgot to turn on the crockpot until about 3pm. It completely slipped my mind.I did it, though. But the meat I cooked would have been much, much better if I had plugged it in earlier in the day and let it stew, or better yet if I had had the meat sit in the fridge overnight in the marinade.

I bought Chinese Five-Spice Powder a few weeks ago, when I found myself in the grocery store all alone. I love grocery shopping alone. I get a mocha from Starbucks and wander each and every aisle, and always find something "new" that I didn't know I needed, or something that I wanted but didn't take the time to properly scout out. Some people like massages. I like solo-grocery shopping.

In a small bowl, mix the dry spices. Rub the mixture on all sides of your meat.

Put the meat into a ziplock bag and add the chopped garlic, soy sauce, and white wine vinegar. Seal the bag and refrigerate for as long as possible; preferably overnight.

I did not do this.Your meat will taste better if you do.

When the meat has fully marinated, cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 5-6. This is very thin meat and will cook quickly, since there isn't much liquid. If you are going to be out of the house for a while, add 1/2 cup of beef broth.I used my 6qt Smart-Pot, and it was not really enough food for it; this would work best in a 4qt.

Slice the meat thin and serve over rice with vegetables, or on top of a spinach salad. We had our meat on top of salad.

The Verdict.

Since I didn't put the crockpot on until 3pm, my meat had very little flavor, except for the very outer skin. We ate it, and it was fine, but it could have been much, much, better. I have meat leftover, and am going to re-rub it with the spices and let it sit for a while, then chop it up for fried rice to have for lunch.

I saw you on Rachael Ray, I have always loved cooking in my crock pot and was thrilled to have the link to your blog! So far I have made the Mongolian Beef (awesome!) the Cream Cheese Chicken (twice! I swear my husband wanted to marry me all over again after that one!)and the steak with A1 and Dijon is in the pot right now :) Just wanted to say hi and that I love your blog. I hope you keep it up after the year is done (which is really impressive by the way!)Take Care and keep the recipe's coming!

sounds like a great recipe, even though you didn't turn on the pot until a bit later. Using the beef for beef fried rice is a great idea! We haven't had fried rice is quite a while and now my mouth is watering for some lol.

My daughter just became a new mom. Tie that with being self-employed and starting back to work quickly, a small kitchen and very little time, I just bought her a crockpot for her birthday. I am now going to email her this link so she has some more great resources for using the pot. Thanks!

When cooking with red meat in the crockpot I find that a london broil works best, it is very lean and cooks to tender-plus it's far less expensive than other cuts of meat! This recipe looks like a winner-definately going to try it!

Thanks for another great recipe! I have to use a timer to keep my mommy brain from forgetting to turn on the crockpot. Nothing fancy, it's just the dial one with the tabs you set for on and off. It's also great for when we want to make Steal Cut Oats for breakfast. That way it comes on while we are sleeping and is all done by the time we get up.

So glad you're experimenting with five spice powder! I've written a post for later this week about star anise, which is one of the five spices. A longer cooking time or a bit of pre-marinating will infuse your meat with flavor, so I hope you'll try this again.

I love your blog! Just wanted to let you know that I have noticed the difference in the pictures of your meals these past few days and I wanted to tell you that whatever you did differently...it looks really nice!

So sorry about the ill child. I will be thinking of you in the coming days. Found your blog a few weeks ago when I began searching for gluten-free crockpot recipes. Glory be!Thank you. Thank you for your honesty about each dish. It is what I look at first to see if hubby will like what I am going to attempt for him. Thank you!

Hi, first time poster. I made this tonight and it came out really salty. The 5-spice flavor was great though. I think I might try it next time without the added salt. Oh, and I used low-salt soy sauce too.

I made your meatloaf and it was divine. I have never eaten meatloaf willingly in my life, so this was a great treat. Being even lazier than you, and not eating bread, even GF (I am a Celiac also)I used quinoa instead of bread crumbs. It was wonderful. I ate the middle out of the meatloaf before I could control myself. Thanks so much for your recipes.

I just happened upon this post today. Solo grocery shopping is great! As long as the store's not too crowded! Thanks for all the yummy recipes :) I am a big fan of my crockpot too and you have such great ideas! ~Jennifer

I've been checking out your site for awhile and I tried the flank steak today...only except I broiled it. The flavor was really good so I think the next time I will cook this I'll try it with the crock pot. Your site has made me experiment with my crock pot though...the other day I made chicken adobo and that was really good too!!!